Nestor Cortes wasn’t happy about moving to the bullpen.
The Yankees’ left-hander, who had been a starter all season, found himself pitching in relief during their 2-0 win over the Cubs. This was his first time out of the bullpen since 2021. The change came because Clarke Schmidt returned from injury, giving the Yankees six healthy starters: Cortes, Schmidt, Cole, Rodón, Stroman, and rookie Luis Gil. Cortes threw 4 1/3 scoreless innings on just 48 pitches.
“Obviously I was upset,” he told reporters. “I felt like I’ve been the workhorse here. Once Cole went down, they picked me to be the Opening Day starter — not necessarily the No. 1, but the Opening Day starter. I had to switch my routine there.”
Uncertainty in Role:
Cortes is set to start against Boston on September 13th but isn’t sure what will happen after that. “I know they told me that I’m starting against Boston,” he said, “but after that… we’ll see.” With a six-man rotation and off days in between games, he feels this might not be the best move.
Fans might think it’s unfair for him to lose his spot like this.
Losing his regular routine is probably bothering him as much as losing his starting role. While he’s clearly unhappy about it, having so many good pitchers is seen as a good thing by the team. Despite everything, Cortes promised to do his best no matter what role he plays.
This season in his 28 starts, Cortes has an ERA of 4.08 with a K/BB ratio of 4.50—better than average for MLB starters this year who have an ERA of 4.18 and a K/BB ratio of 2.88.
No matter how he’s used for the rest of this season, Cortes will be crucial for Yankees’ hopes of winning their division title They are currently holding onto a slim lead over Baltimore Orioles with an overall record of 82-60.
What do you think? Should he stay in bullpen or go back as starter?
